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One year ago the Lake Wissota Improvement and Protection Association (LWIPA) was challenged to raise $250,000 and partner with the Chippewa County Land Conservation & Forest Management Committee (LCFMC) to guarantee the continuation of the public/private partnership between the Chippewa County Land Conservation & Forest Management Department (LCFM) and the previous partner, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. The goal, for the project, is to improve the water quality in Lake Wissota. By January 2018, through a fund-raising campaign and generous donations and pledges from Lake Wissota land owners, area townships, local businesses, civic groups and other community members, the goal was reached. The $250,000 raised provides a yearly $50,000 budget that pays for a water specialist/project manager, hired and supervised by the LCFM. The project manager, under guidance of an implementation team, leads and implements the project. The implementation team is comprised of LCFM staff, LWIPA board members, Wisconsin Farmers Union representative and local business owners. The LCFM provides services and oversight, produces a yearly budget and timeline for project completion, sponsors grants, and provides technical assistance.

Using the model developed for the Little Lake Wissota Stewardship Project, the project was expanded to include the Yellow River watershed and renamed the Lake Wissota Stewardship Project (LWSP). The LWSP set three goals: conservation on the land to reduce runoff, monitoring water quality and community outreach.

Caleb Meyer was hired in February 2018 to lead the program. He set the following priorities for this year: a) applying for grants such as Targeted Runoff Management grants that supply funds to reduce non-point pollution sources in watersheds, and b) completing an extensive watershed management plan called a 9 Key Element Plan for the Little Lake Wissota watershed. The latter is in its final stages of approval by the DNR. This plan is critical for obtaining competitive grants and will be the long-term management guide for the watershed.

LWSP has three goals and has been successful in working on each of them.

1. Conservation on the land to reduce runoff – Three sediment basins were installed to collect and infiltrate runoff before it reaches surface water. Four tree and shrub buffers were planted along waterways. A twenty-five acre wetland was restored in the Yellow River watershed. Acres in the watersheds were taken out of production and placed in permanent easements.

2. Monitoring water quality – Monitoring was expanded this year. Little Lake Wissota monitoring continued with Boy Scout Troop #75. Moon Bay area monitoring was continued and expanded by volunteers. The DNR trained eight LWIPA volunteers in stream monitoring for eleven sites in the Lake Wissota watershed. The monitoring for summer total phosphorus was done on Little & Big Drywood Creeks, Yellow River, Paint, Stillson & Frederick creeks. Little & Big Drywood Creeks were added to establish a baseline of current conditions to the Yellow River/Moon Bay area of Lake Wissota. The Yellow River is currently listed as impaired for total phosphorus. The other sites provide up to date total phosphorus levels in Little Lake Wissota. In addition, the DNR water quality staff conducted fish surveys at 15 sites in the Drywood watersheds and will collect macroinvertebrate samples at these locations this fall. The data will help show the

current health of the fish population and if the biology of the system is being affected by any impairments to the water quality.

3. Community outreach – the LWIPA and LWSP worked together to provide many opportunities to improve community awareness of water quality issues including: Canoes for a Cause tree planting, training water monitoring volunteers, initiating a Healthy Lakes best practices grant process. Caleb presented an overview of the project at the LWIPA’s annual meeting and attended the annual picnic answering questions and talking to donors and provided speakers to three area non-profits. Signs about the project were also posted at completed projects.

What’s ahead? 2019 preparations are well underway. At least five new watershed projects are being evaluated. There is a lot of farmer interest in potential projects and use of the CREP agreements to set aside cropland for 10-15 years is being encouraged. Chippewa County is in the process of hiring an agronomist who will work with county farmers. The LWIPA will apply for a Healthy Lakes best practice grant for at least 5 private property owners who want to complete projects on their lakeshore property next year. The DNR will target other sub-watersheds in the Lower Yellow River for further monitoring. Caleb will begin the process of writing a 9 Key Element Plan for the Yellow River watershed.

It takes a community effort to maintain and improve one of the Chippewa Valley’s important recreational and economic assets. The Lake Wissota Stewardship Project thanks all our donors for enabling the program to continue. We are still soliciting funds for projects. Although public funding through grants is important, it is the private funds that can be applied more quickly. For instance, wetland restoration of a forty acre field in a critical area can be installed in a timelier manner through private funds.

LWIPA invites donors and interested lake area residents to attend a meeting at the Lafayette Town Hall on Wednesday, November 7, at 7:00PM. Dan Masterpole, head of Chippewa County Land & Forest Management, and Caleb Meyer will represent LWSP. We will be honoring landowners who participated this year and answering any community members’ and donors’ questions about the Lake Wissota Stewardship Project.